CHURCHES OF CHRIST

THROUGH

THE DARK AGES

/I CeiefoaHw

[Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2014

https://archive.org/details/churchesofchristOOwhee

CHURCHES OF CHRIST

THROUGH

THE DARK AGES

CetefoatiM

by

V

J. T. Wheeler

copyright 2002 In-House Publications

Dedication

There has been the idea of a church of Christ in every century

of this earth since its founding by the Lord Jesus on that first

Pentecost after His resurrection (Acts 2). But it has been hidden

historically. Now the history is exposed as a gem uncovered by the

prospector's spade. The internet is as much responsible for this as

any other tool, for it was by the internet that I have been able to

contact brethren in England who have dedicated much more time

and energy to this study than I. For the most part, I am simply

reporting the fruits of those efforts, however imperfectly.

2

Table of Contents

1. Introduction page 4

2. Chapter One (AD 27-500) page 9

3. Chapter Two (AD 500-1000) page 18

4. Chapter Three (AD 1000-1500) page 23

5. Chapter Four (AD 1500-1600) page 30

6. Chapter Five (AD 1600-1800) page 36

7. Chapter Six (AD 1800-Present) page 48

8. Conclusion page 62

9. Sources page ^8

3

CHURCHES OF CHRIST THROUGH THE DARK AGES

A History

Introduction

Having grown up under the influence of churches of Christ,

I feel particularly close to the fellowship which concerns these next

few pages. I completed my higher education at Freed-Hardeman

University, a private school dedicated to the principles of this

fellowship. All through these school years were heard the

speculations, suppositions, and affirmations that our fellowship

had lasted through the centuries to our day. I remember the

wondrous joy I felt when I first learned of Anabaptists and their

marvelous fight against papal hegemony. Of course here were our

brethren, having been hidden "in the wilderness," now once more

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thrust upon the scene. And of course, I was wrong.

But since that time I have learned a much more wondrous

story that fills me with that much greater joy-the true drama of

hidden bands of followers of Jesus Christ who by God's grace were

able to maintain their identity as churches of Christ through over

twelve hundred years of the most intense persecution imaginable,

brought on every bit as much by the ignorance of neighbors as by

the clerical authorities ofRome.

To be clear, we must establish both a doctrinal basis as well

as historical basis for this research. The early church of Christ of

the first century preached the Good News of the death, burial, and

resurrection of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ ofNazareth, that

was considered the fulfillment of all related Old Testament

prophecies (I Corinthians 15). Then the admonition was

repeatedly given to believe it, and on that basis, to repent and be

immersed in water in Jesus' name to obtain forgiveness of one's

sins. When such obedience was completed, the individual was

considered saved, a Christian and automatically a member of the

fellowship of believers who had done the same. Regular

attendance to meetings of this fellowship was expected, especially

on Sunday (the first day of the week) when the Lord's Supper

would be taken, songs to God sung, prayers offered together, the

material needs of the members satisfied according to ability, and

the word ofGod heard with the people devoting themselves to live

righteously according to Christ (Acts 2; 8; 10; 20; etc.). There was

no clergy and the barest of official capacity (I Timothy 3).

Almost no one today disputes this synopsis of the first-

century church. It is marked by simplicity of doctrine, belief,

organization, activity, worship and devotion. There were no

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headquarters for the church acknowledged, no hierarchy in place,

no elaborate rituals and no ceremonial calendar.

Nor do most deny that the present state of Christianity

evolved (digressed?) from this humble beginning. But the rub is

this: was such change, though expected and even desired by many,

allowed according to the canon of the twenty-seven books of the

New Testament? At the beginning the early church "continued

steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine" (Acts 2:42). Apostolic

tradition was clear and authoritative for all the churches (I

Corinthians 4:14-17; II Thessalonians 2:15). And here is the

clincher: one was not to go beyond what the apostles had written

and/or authorized in writing for the churches (I Corinthians 4:6; II

Corinthians 10:9-11).

Here then is the philosophical heart of the definition of a

church of Christ. If such a fellowship has existed through the

centuries, it will exist according to these terms. These are the

terms ofpresent day congregations calling themselves churches of

Christ. Have such congregations been uncovered from the past?

This is the story before you.

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Chapter One

"In the beginning..."

(AD 27-500)

In Florence, Italy, is the Baptistery of San Giovanni. It is for

immersing believers. It is ancient, reaching to the earliest

demonstrations of Christian devotion. The word "baptize" is the

anglicized Greek which when translated into English means to dip,

to plunge, to immerse, to perform a purpose by so doing (washing,

dyeing). Greek ships that were sunk were said to be baptized in

the deep. Out of eleven Christian references to baptism in the

second century, immersion is plainly understood and/or described

in ten. Only in one, the Didache, is pouring substituted, and that

only as a last resort. Baptism is plainly explained to obtain for the

one immersed salvation, the remission of sins, the knowledge of

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God.

Baptism is one of the first things to change historically from

the New Testament pattern. Another is the organization of the

church, from an eldership taken from the congregation to a single

clergy (bishop) authorized to oversee and preside over all services.

A third is the commencement of the celebration of Easter. Here

then are benchmarks to indicate what church we are dealing with.

The reason for this digression from early church practice had

to do with allowing students of the apostles to determine meanings

of doctrine which sometimes contradicted plain statements in the

Scripture itself. That plus the growing thought of interpreting

scripture allegorically yielded the individual to group consensus,

which then bred a variety of church heresies and heterodoxies.

The Hierarchy was established to maintain a uniformity and

control over the churches. As the centuries rolled, the centers of

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control vacillated (sometimes violently) between Rome,

Constantinople, and Alexandria. The farther a church was from

either of these areas, the more freedom it could exercise.

Gaul bordered Italia in the Roman Empire to the west.

By the third century, Christians were well established in the

province and undergoing intense persecution, especially in Lyons.

The apostle Paul had made plans in the first century to sail to the

outermost western rim of empire, Hispania. Just north was the

western coast of Gaul, and then the isle of Britannia.

We do not know the details, but Christianity was well

established in the British Isles by the three hundreds. British

bishops attended the Council of Aries in 314. Patrick (ca. 389-

461), who reportedly first took Christianity to Ireland (it actually

was already there), came from a Christian family in Britain. By the

fifth century (the 400's), every indication is that a Christian

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civilization was thriving on the Isles at this time.

Interestingly, the typical picture of Britannia is one of

entrenched paganism, slow to convert to Christ if at all. The

reason for this difference is found in what it means to be Christian.

The hierarchial changes enveloping churches throughout the

empire were very slow to get to Britain. Rome, gaining the

churches in the West almost by default (Constantinople had its

hands full with eastern troubles), never considered Britain in the

fold until the end of the 500's, under the "shepherding" of

Augustine of Canterbury. The problem? Britain's Christians'

sluggishness to acknowledge the Roman bishop's authority over

their churches and the rejection of an insurgent doctrine begun by

another Augustine, of Hippo (354-430).

He is the one who fully developed the concept of original sin,

total depravity, and thus the "need" for infant baptism. A church

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leader who opposed such innovation was a Briton named Pelagius.

Augustine's antipathy toward Pelagius and the Christians of Britain

became legendary. That the more ancient orthodox Christian

practice is now known historically as Pelagianism demonstrates

that Augustine won the debate. Infant baptism (more and more

becoming affusion and sprinkling) on the basis of inherited

original sin became the norm for the Church.

Except in Britain. Throughout the 400's and 500's, the church

sought (with notable exceptions) to maintain its original doctrine

and practice. But the times were changing.

With the collapse of Julius Caesar's Roman Empire (420's-

470's), the Britons were left on their own against foreign invaders.

The Picts and Scots of the upper north were especially

troublesome. With legion withdrawals to help calm things in the

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east closer to the capital, and with no money from the empire

coffers to pay for western protection, Britannia found itself trying

to preserve civilization as they knew it. They elected a king

(though events are sketchy at this point in British history, it seems

that there was no overlord usually running British communities;

there seems to be remarkable demonstrations of self-government

along republican lines) whose responsibility was to take care ofthe

Pict/Scot problem. The man chosen was Vortigern.

Vortigern goes to precedent and hires Saxons from the

continent (from the province of Germania) to settle on the coast

and border areas as a buffer against invasion. At first, the plan

works well. The Picts and Scots cease to be a problem. But then

the Saxons get restless and begin their own raiding parties into

Britain. Vortigern has no plan against the Saxons.

At this point in British history, the clouds descend obscuring

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our efforts to see the past. What little can be seen through the haze

seems to be this: another British overlord is chosen, Riothamus,

who organizes his own army and crushes the Saxon insurgency.

He has backing from both Rome and Constantinople. He also

targets churches and church schools throughout the British Isles.

Being Rome's man, over twenty years of violent rule, he breaks the

back of the pre-Catholic Christian society that was Britannia. The

result? The Saxons are routed, and "Pelagian" Christianity is no

longer a force in Britain.

Riothamus is so successful that he takes the war to the Saxons

themselves in Germania. Promised a major army ofreinforcements

from the western emperor Anthemius (ruled 467-472), he plows

into the heart of Saxony itself But the army never materializes,

while all the Saxons in the world rush upon him. Barely escaping,

he heads toward the coast of Normandy in the area of apple

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orchards called Avalon, where he is never heard from again.

The final years of Britannia are those of anguish, slavery, and

exile of Britons in their own land. The Saxons re-approach

settlement in the isles, there being no more organized effort to keep

them out. Some Britons settle in the far west (what will be Wales).

Most try to hang on to what they knew of life, order, and religion

as the Saxons over the next hundred years absorb the area as their

own. The term Briton (through the Welsh derivative) will come to

mean slave, while Britannia will become Angleland (England).

The work of Augustine of Canterbury will be much more among

the Angles and Saxons than the Britons, as he seeks to define for

these insurgent settlers Christianity according to Rome.

Over the centuries that follow, it will be the loyal Roman

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churchmen who write the histories and memoirs of conquering

barbarians anxious to be called Romans (civilized). The great

kings will be those who help empower the Roman church and

entrench its influence.

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Chapter Two

Hiding Among the Franks

(AD 500-1000)

To escape the pillage, slavery, and alien culture engulfing

their homeland, many Brits sailed across the channel to find some

rest and peace on the continent. Seeking to establish some essence

of home (much as the pioneers to America would do later), they

sought to keep alive their concept of religion, education, and

refinements. In the area of old Gaul called Amorica, these British

refugees populated the outermost peninsula, calling it Brittany

(Little Britain?). Here they quietly work and live and worship over

the next 500 years. We know practically nothing of them

historically during this time. Only that, periodically on order from

Rome, armies, legates, or town authorities would round up various

18

"colonies" of heretics for trial and death throughout the area of the

Franks. But when the fog of historical darkness begins to lift, what

we find is wondrous.

The new political order that was arising in Europe after the

collapse ofRome's empire involved all the continent. The Franks

were increasing their power, property and prestige, all the time

having the recaptured ancient Roman grandeur in mind. This

meant that the Pope (the de facto Roman representative of that

grandeur) had to be allied in the effort. This turned the Frankish

Empire into the Holy Roman Empire. Of course, enemies of the

Church could not be tolerated, and that meant enemies of the

authority of the hierarchy ofRome must die.

The only word we get ofthe church of Christ during this time

(700's) is not, surprisingly, from the West but from Central

Europe. A Byzantine monk complains of a debate he had had with

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a group of Christians who had the audacity to ignore Rome, the

holy feast days, and the saints. They worshipped in poor hovels,

and their leaders were simple laymen from the church. They

refused any title but Christian only.

But then, in 1025, a man named Gundulf was found in

northern France preaching the ancient mode of baptism and

rejecting the baptism of the Church. Pierre de Bruis was known

about one hundred years later to preach contrary to Roman

doctrine in southern France. In the area of what is now Belgium,

under severe persecution, over one hundred churches of Christ

were discovered in 1 143. In 1 146, a Henry of Toulouse was found

preaching "church of Christ" doctrine. Interestingly, during this

time it is recorded that many Balkan and Bulgarian brethren came

to France to help their fellows in this particular trouble. This will

be all we hear of the Central brethren until 1519.

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The connection between these two efforts of Central and West

is very interesting and compels more study. A possible link is the

British slaves who were sold along Slavic and Muslim trade routes

throughout Europe.

It is foolish to believe that every Briton or Breton (Briton of

Brittany) was a member of the church of Christ, clandestinely or

otherwise. Or that either Britannia or Brittany maintained a

collective hold on Christianity's ancient practices. Roman Catholic

hegemony was almost entirely successful—almost.

What could be the case is that Central and West fed each

other through the centuries, sending missionaries back and forth to

provinces and villages where their message had a familiar ring,

where old memories were stirred, or where simple knowledge of

the Scriptures admitted the correctness of the preaching.

The churches of Christ in France during these years have no

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organization beyond the local church. They have no political

clout, no force of arms, no money. They are totally at the mercy

of the Frankish Empire.

All the thrones are empowered by Rome. To stand against the

pope was to stand against the king ofyour own country. Repeated

persecutions, the later Hundred Years' War, the Black Death, all

seem to have worked against these brethren and their efforts to

sustain themselves. What bare remnant might have remained will

vanish into the more fundamentalist Protestant culture to come

(Huguenots), to be summarily banished under the heavy hand of

Louis XIV.

But they had done their job. They kept the faith dutifully

alive and well for over 500 years, even spreading it throughout

Frankish territory, until it could get back to England. That it did

with the indirect help of a man named William.

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Chapter Three

Back in England

(AD 1000-1500)

William the Conqueror was born around 1028 in the area of

Normandy. Believing that he was the rightful king of England,

having been denied the throne by Harold Godwinson, William

invades England with permission from the pope in one of the most

famous battles of all history in 1066. This establishes Norman rule

over England. Many of those who return with him and later are

the descendants ofthose exiled Brits regaining their long-lost and

long-dreamt-of homeland.

Did they bring the church of Christ with them? What little we

might hear of the church in England before 1066 is the barest of

hints, as the record of Offa king of England seems to relate, that

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Archbishop Jaenberht of Canterbury "was educated in the 'family'

of the church of St. Augustine in Canterbury" (ca. 770). Did the

Church have different "families" in 770 Britain? The different

families of the Church may simply mean particular schools for

parochial education; then again, the statement may mean to

differentiate non-Pelagian from Pelagian Christianity. The need to

make that distinction would mean that "Pelagian" Christianity (the

church of Christ) was still around enough to demand

differentiation. This we know: the Roman Church will not feel

comfortable about the churches in these isles until some four

hundred years later.

Be that as it may, in the north Yorkshire dales has been found

in the second floor of Castle Bolton a baptistry for immersion,

dating to the 1000's. Around 1 160, a group of folks were brought

before Henry II; and they used the opportunity to preach the

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ancient gospel of Christ to king and parliament. They did not die

at this time but were literally branded as heretics. From the 1200's

on, the record is clear that churches of Christ were back in the

British Isles. Congregations are known to have existed in Hill

Cliff, Wales in 1390 and 1417; one in Chesterton, Cambridge in

1457; and by 1587, several are said to be in London. Tottlebank,

Furness had one in 1669.

During the impressment of Norman rule, the feudal system

became full-blown. But unlike other areas of attempted empires,

the English knew something of freedom. The scribes and scholars

of Henry VIII will confess to finding no documentation of any

surrender of the English churches to the Roman See, which fact

will be used as a defense of the orthodoxy of Henry's break with

Rome in 1534. Such is the indication of love of freedom and

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independence, echoing from the early years of Vortigern, that

found its way into Norman ranks and manifested itself against the

tyranny of King John, in 1215, with the lordly demand of the

Magna Carta. There does not seem to be any record of

mistreatment of the church of Christ during his reign. But that the

church grew in influence is demonstrated by the following.

In 1229, the Catholic Church banned the Bible to the

common people. In 1235, the Friars Minorities came to England

to suppress the "heresy" of the church of Christ (believers'

immersion for the forgiveness of sins; rejection of clergy,

cathedrals, original sin; etc.).

It seemed suppressed indeed until John Wycliff (1329-1384)

came on the scene. He pushed hard in the direction of churches of

Christ, even to putting the Bible into the hands and language of the

people. Arguing with a cleric, Wycliff reportedly retorted, "Ere

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many days hence, I'll have the boy with the plow learning more

Scripture than you!" He is responsible for the first known attempt

to translate the Bible into the English language. Though

condemned by the pope in 1377, he was well protected and died in

his bed.

But what truly connects him to churches of Christ is a letter

written in 1519 to Desiderius Erasmus by Johannes Slechta

Costelecius. Costelecius was informing Erasmus about a group of

Christians in Bohemia in 1410. In this letter, followers of Wycliff

in Bohemia were practicing believers' baptism by dipping, electing

officers from the laity, and accepting no authority but the

Scriptures.

A Bohemian named Jan Hus (1374-1415) reportedly ran with

Wycliffs teaching, causing a tremendous stir in Central Europe.

He would be counted the originator of the Protestant Reformation

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that took hold ofEurope in the 1500's.

From Wycliff came the Lollards, not fully identified with

churches of Christ (as indeed is the same problem with Hussites).

But in 1401, the first Lollard martyr, William Sawtre, was counted

an immersed believer.

There is the possibility that Costelecius is confusing an

independent demonstration ofchurches of Christ in Central Europe

with Wycliffs work. Another consideration is that members of the

church (such as Sawtre) simply joined themselves to what they felt

were kindred spirits in the Lollards.

Here let us make a point crystal clear. We are not saying that

there has been apostolic succession in any sense through these

centuries. But the thesis is that there has been historical

continuation of doctrinal proclamation and practice which

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demonstrates churches of Christ (I Timothy 3:15, 16), a record of

continuity, consistency, and longevity that even the Church of

Rome cannot rival.

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Chapter Four

Facing the Protestants

(AD 1500-1600)

As the feudal system began to slip away under a rising

mercantile middle class, Johann Gutenberg, entrepreneur that he

was, published the Latin Bible by printing it on moveable type in

1456. The French had separated themselves from the Holy Roman

Empire (which was taking on a decidedly Saxon hue) and started

pushing for more land in the west. Eventually the holdings of

England on the western continental coast fell to France. The

Italian Catholic, Christopher Columbus, appealed to Catholic

Spain, after she put down the Muslim Moors in her borders, for

money to cross the Atlantic Ocean to Cathay (China). He found

the Americas in 1492. The Muslims were forced to pull back into

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what is known as the Ottoman Empire, never threatening Europe

again. The Byzantine Empire (what was left of the old Roman

rule) had fallen to the Ottomans in 1457. This allowed Catholic

advance into Eastern Europe, the Orient, and the New World.

Once again, changing times caught churches of Christ in a

maelstrom of war, power-grabbing, disease, and shifting fortunes.

Jan Hus had had his influence felt throughout Central and Eastern

Europe, being martyred for his faith in 1415. One hundred years

later, in Wittenburg, Germany, a Catholic monk and educator

named Martin Luther shook the world (and it's still shaking,

incidentally) by nailing on the Wittenburg church door 95 theses

against Catholic dogma. He later declared, "We are all Hussites

now."

Thus began a rebellion against Catholic control of society that

reshaped the religious landscape forever. In 1 527, ten years after

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Luther's propositions, a loosely connected group of "radicals"

decided to organize into a fellowship of independent churches.

They were termed Anabaptists because in Catholic eyes they

rebaptized themselves, thus repudiating the sacraments of the

Church. They had peculiar beliefs. They were quickly caught up

in the faith-only concepts of justification from Martin Luther.

They refused to sing in their assemblies, counting such activity

worldly. They were extreme pacifists, having nothing to do with

arms or government. And their baptism was in the mode of

pouring (affusion). Because they were so loose in interpreting

scripture, they were very vulnerable to extremes in doctrine. For

this reason, neither Catholic nor Protestant tolerated them.

The Protestant view of government that began to take shape

was that, since the people of a certain town, province, country, etc.

were no longer Catholic, it was unfair discrimination for their

32

rulers to accept only Catholic loyalties. The Catholic Church, not

about to let so many leave the fold (with the wealth and influence

such numbers held), immediately encouraged war against the

wayward children. The Protestants, seeking government control

of their own, fought back. This wracked Europe in bloody spasms

for almost 100 years! And if places like Ireland are considered, the

blood flowed for much longer than that.

In England, a commission was sent to the religious authorities

to put an end to "anabaptists" in 1538. The trouble with that is,

there were no Anabaptists in England at that time, certainly none

of any number. What England is responding to, then, can be none

other than churches of Christ (as these groups are designated in the

records), which had been practicing believers' immersion for the

forgiveness of sins for over one thousand years in the West !

Remember that the Anabaptists of Reformation heritage did not

33

practice immersion, though it seems original sin was put on the

back burner of doctrine among them until Calvinism's insurgency

into their ranks.

Nevertheless, it was easy and even desirable to label churches

of Christ with the Anabaptist moniker. This will have a decided

impact on the brethren as the 1600's roll by.

The most famous member of the church of the past thousand

years must be William Tyndale (1495-1536). He carried on

WyclirTs work to get the Bible faithfully translated into the hands

of the English people. Both the printing press and humanistic

scholarship were working wonders along these lines. Along these

same lines, members of the church were now able to publish their

views with relative ease, but still at great cost. Tyndale is on

record preaching that baptism is immersion for the forgiveness of

one's sins. And it cost him his life. Henry VIII, great reformer that

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he was, had Tyndale executed in 1536.

By 1612, countless Christians had paid with their lives for

believing contrary to Rome, then London. Some report that

Christians were publicly executed in over twenty-six places in

England, numbering over 1000. Even the Separatist and Puritan

settlers of Pilgrim fame in New England had a law making

religious immersion a capital crime in the 1620's.

But the point is this: it is not the members of churches of

Christ who were insurgents, heretics, changing, troubling. As their

history rises phoenix-like from the ashes of religious bigotry and

ignorance and self-imposed darkness, they are the ones repeatedly

shown (or is that shone?) to be stalwart, constant, bold, faithful,

which is why we can hear their proclamation of faith today.

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Chapter Five

Enter the Baptists

(AD 1600-1800)

The Baptists freely admit to being divided about their origins.

This is understandable. The times now considered are still

confused and the cost of dissent still bitter. Theirs is a story of

bravery and struggle, as many peoples were adjusting their eyes to

the Light as they were coming out of papal domination. Their

story is also peculiarly English.

That the modern term Baptist came from the longer derisive

Anabaptist is now admitted by most. Interestingly, it is not the

term that stuck with those whose actions originated it. The

Bohemians (Hussites) would not allow the derivative ofthe world's

name-calling to determine or define their efforts for pure

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Christianity, though later descendants did happily take on the

Mennonite name.

As England struggles for purity of Christian discipleship, they

fracture into various groups. The Church ofEngland spawns many

offshoots, such as the Covenanters, the Puritans, the Separatists,

the Congregationalists, the Reformed, the Presbyterians, etc.

John Smyth, with Thomas Helwys (ca. 1607), Separatists

taking leave of England with their congregation for safer lodging

in the Netherlands, find themselves under the influence of the

Mennonites who have migrated to that region. Smyth, thinking he

has found the truth, puts his lot in with the Mennonites. Helwys

will not go that far and, becoming the de facto leader of the group,

brings them back to England.

At this time the Baptists (as they are beginning to be called)

37

are very loose in their terms of fellowship and for many years seek

rapprochement with the Mennonites on the continent. But because

of their refusal to accept fully the doctrines of Menno Simmons,

the Mennonites reject full fellowship with them.

Anabaptist beliefs have already been put forth. English

Baptists tended to be more involved with government, allowing

oaths of allegiance, and even the taking up of arms. Soul sleeping

and apostolic succession for the baptizer, also part and parcel of

the Mennonite faith, were rejected by the Baptists. The Baptists

found themselves in the midst of the Great Rebellion (Cromwell's

revolution against the English monarchy) and then were

considered established before the government by the time of

William and Mary of Orange in 1688. They were able to build

schools and began to advance church organization beyond the

local congregation for evangelistic and fellowship purposes.

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A major conflict for the Baptist fellowship took place over

doctrine from which they never recovered. By the 1540's, a man

named John Calvin (French Catholic moved to Geneva,

Switzerland) had developed a systematic theology based on

Augustine's presumption of inherited guilt but contrary to

Catholicism's works of divine merit. Incorporating Luther's

premise of faith-only salvation, Calvin worked out a very logical

if flawed view of grace. It is expressed in the TULIP acrostic:

Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement,

Irresistible grace, and Perseverance of the saints.

This new teaching quickly invaded the ranks of practically

every Protestant denomination where immediate division ensued.

The new doctrine called Calvinism soon became even more

definitive of Protestant theology than Luther's. The Baptists were

not spared. The Calvinist (Particular) Baptists began to ascend in

39

numbers and influence and carried that ascendancy into America.

Baptists have from the first felt compelled to credalize their faith,

the most popular being The Philadelphia Confession of Faith .

Thus the Augustinian insurgency came full circle-professed

Christians who believe in original sin rejecting infant christening.

This was obtained because Luther's maxim of faith-only was

accepted without question. Therefore baptism, as important as it

was, would never rise for these folks beyond church work

(sacrament).

To be on the outside forever looking in on acceptable society

is a burden of heart beyond proper expression. You think of

yourself at a loss and you consider your children doomed.

Consequently, when the Protestant Reformation took hold in

England, the promise it held for inclusion was the very scent of

40

heaven. William Tyndale ended his life with a bold prayer for the

king to have his eyes opened by God.

When a group of religious dissenters showed up, courageous,

pius, rejecting Rome and London with their infant baptisms,

determined to follow God and not man in all things, surely

members of churches of Christ would be drawn to them. Indeed,

it was just this way. A Leonard Busher published a tract in 1614

calling for religious liberty, believing in believers' immersion.

Baptist historians freely admit the fellowship and influence

sustained in their ranks by "dissenters," one such being the

marvelous Henry Denne. Denne was a member of the church of

Christ, highly respected among the Baptists, known for his views

on political toleration for religious dissidents. He was immersed

by Thomas Lambach in 1643, where Lambach preached in

London. Denne was arrested more than once for preaching. He

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preached and established churches of Christ in some ten different

locations throughout England. He was also instrumental in the

conversion of Oliver Cromwell's daughter and her husband. He

wrote some seven books and tracts. Both Denne and another

evangelist for the church, Benjamin Cox, were known as able

debaters. Denne died in 1658.

The Baptists did not immerse until around 1641. That this

change is due to the influence ofmembers of the church of Christ

should be obvious. At first there were many similarities, such as

rejection of clergy, rejection of a sacred calendar, regular

celebration ofthe Lord's Supper, no instrumental music allowed in

the service. But a pastor system developed quickly from a

confessed call to preach that established the evangelist as quasi-

head of the congregation. Also, an experience of grace was

demanded for church membership, and the Lord's Supper was

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eaten whenever the members wanted to rather than weekly.

Emphasis on the Old Testament soon produced religious holidays

for the Church. And as was said already, Baptists were quick to

organize beyond the local congregation.

Baptists did early on desire a pure New Testament religion

which results to this day with the mentality ofmany that the First

Baptist Church truly is the first church, the denomination closest

to the church of the New Testament. But the most important

aspect of it all, the place of baptism, is never bridged between the

two groups, certainly never officially. The church of Christ is

defined as preaching and practicing believers' immersion in Jesus'

name in order to be saved. The Baptists have ever credalized

baptism, once pouring then immersion, as an expression of

acceptance of the Church.

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The results of fellowship between Baptists and churches

of Christ are predictable. Someone must give. To have struggled

for centuries for acceptance on behalf of your very life and

property, and then finally to have found a way to achieve it, is not

easily walked away from. Henry Denne's son, also a preacher,

began to promote Baptist teaching around 1680. A Mr. Hirst of

the Rossendale church of Christ persuaded his brethren in northern

England to merge into the Baptist fold in the early 1700's. The

resultant compromises plunged remaining churches of Christ back

into the shadows of obscurity.

But the results were not all one way. As Baptists began

making their way into the New World, many came with a renewed

desire for the pure religion of Christ. Roger Williams, noted

Baptist who began that church in the British colonies, actually left

the Baptist fold and went into history seeking a closer walk with

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Jesus. Elias Smith was a Baptist preacher in New England who

decided against Calvinism and determined to launch a restoration

ofthe Lord's church in America. He began the first publication of

a religious periodical in 1808.

It is reported that early in United States history Baptist

Churches in Indiana and North Carolina took to calling themselves

churches of Christ as they sought "original ground." Twelve

Baptist Churches formed an association in Kentucky "constituted

on the Bible."

And perhaps most striking is the fact that the doctrine of

baptism in America among Baptists became more fluid, sometimes

even Baptist pulpits proclaiming Acts 2:38 as the reason for it.

That is, until a man named Alexander Campbell, recently come

from the British Isles, made such a point of it, the Baptists

generally could have no more of it.

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And there is more. One group to come from the effort to

maintain New Testament purity is the Quakers. Though radical in

their persuasion, they were tempered by their former connections

to the church of Christ in London. Attaining great influence in

America through the efforts of William Perm and George Fox, they

promoted a concept of Christianity free from ecclesiasticism and

man-made tradition. Benjamin Franklin was heavily influenced by

Fox's preaching. Though not known for his devotion to Christ,

nevertheless, Franklin had this for his hope in founding a new

nation, "He who shall introduce into public affairs principles of

primitive Christianity will change the face of the world and be

remembered for a thousand years."

An attitude was building in the United States of America, an

attitude of evangelistic fervor and devotion to the Lord that would

constitute a storm of its own. Religious freedom had been

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introduced into the equation. For the first time since before

Vortigern, people could worship God freely without fear. It was

a storm that would sweep the world. Only this time, the church of

Christ would be riding high on it.

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Chapter Six

Restoration from the Wilderness

(AD 1800-Present)

"And He has made of one blood every nation ofmen to dwell

on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed

times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should

seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find

Him, though He is not far from each one of us..," (Acts 17:26, 27).

With the new age ofmodern discovery, it can be said that the

Catholics were "the firstest with the mostest." As the Ninetheenth

Century began to dawn, the New World was almost totally

Catholic dominated. The only exception was a strip of land along

the east coast of North America, and even that had a colony

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distinctly Catholic within it (Maryland), plus Spanish Florida to

the south, and French Canada and Louisiana to the north and west

respectively. The reason for this extraordinary conquest has as

much to do with bravery, intrepidity, devotion, and zeal as it has

to do with anything else. It is a remarkable achievement. The only

reason for a British dominated east coast was the defeat of the

Spanish Armada in 1588. But it was enough.

Protestant zeal also played a major role in founding a nation

free to worship as individuals and states saw fit. Rationalism was

a part of it but not much. The Enlightenment thinking of the

1600's was used by believers in Christ to conquer the world. The

Rationalists simply wanted to make sure they had their own arena

of the freedom staked out in the mind of the citizenry. Only

recently (late twentieth century) have they tried to redefine

America in their terms.

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The religious zeal ofthe American population is demonstrated

by the Great Awakenings. Two grand revivals within two

generations speak of a Bible dominated people, just what the

inhabitants wanted.

The First Great Awakening had to do with personal piety and

restored devotion to church life. The Second Great Awakening,

though not ignoring the earlier imperative to a righteous life, had

to do with a desire to destroy denominational differences and find

the unity in Christianity that the Bible so plainly speaks of but has

seemed so illusive since 1517.

A major "player" in that second revival was Barton Stone.

Born in Maryland, he learned of the grace of God in North

Carolina from the Presbyterians and soon established himself

among them as an evangelist of that grace. Moving to Kentucky

around 1801, he partook with various ministers of different

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denominations (Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist) as together they

brought thousands to conviction and conversion, according to a

faith-only mentality yet without the Calvinistic isolationism. After

all, Stone knew God's grace was open to all. The cross of Christ

proved it. Though later disavowing the excess emotionalism of the

two-to-three-week meeting, Stone always saw that effort at Cane

Ridge as God's moving people closer to true religion than would

ever have taken place in them without it.

The Presbyterian synod to which Stone answered balked at

the revival. Refusing to repudiate it, he saw the synod as hindering

the work of God he was called to do. Severing himself from the

Presbyterians (they were going to boot him out, anyway), he and

the church he was ministering to wrote The Last Will and

Testament of the Springfield Presbytery in 1803. They had set

their course for a vision of the church of Christ without

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denominational barriers, without credal restrictions, and without

limits to spiritual growth. This caused the effort spawned at this

time to go to extremes once in a while. But as it matured in solid

Bible study, gradually coming together was the essence of

Christianity in its primitive form that each individual and

congregation were free to find and accept for themselves. Stone

would be the only leader from this beginning to stand firm and

consistent on such "new" ground. But he would not be alone.

At the University of Glasgow in Scotland in the late 1700's,

a peculiar philosophy of religion and the church was having

interesting effect. It was spear-headed by one John Glas and

Robert Sandeman. It was actually a revolution in denominational

thought based on a common-sense view, of the Bible and the idea

that Divine truth is to be known rationally. Faith in Jesus does not

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come from a mystical gift from the Holy Spirit but from the simple

rational consideration ofthe evidence for Jesus that the Holy Spirit

has already given to all men, found in the pages of the holy

Scripture. In that Bible is found the pattern for a faithful church

of Christ that all men can "divine" for themselves: a weekly

observance every Lord's Day of the Lord's Supper for baptized

believers (no miraculous activity to be expected); church

government is autonomous from the congregation's own

membership; only elders and deacons are to be in that government;

no state control of the church is to be allowed; the Roman Church

is apostate; the Old Testament does not determine New Testament

religion; baptism must be received for the remission of sins,

however it is administered.

The striking similarities between this understanding and what

we have already seen is apparent. The allowance of any mode of

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baptism demonstrates that this is not pure "church of Christ"

doctrine; yet, by this time, the openness with which churches of

Christ would have operated and their preachers preached would

indicate an influence, however indirect.

Though it has long been advocated by faithful preachers of

the gospel of Christ that the Bible alone is all a man needs to find

and obey the truth of God in its fullness (John Glas' assertion),

still, with the gospel freely published by this time for over two

hundred years, the ability of the people to see it without credal

determinants is obvious by its loss. The presence of churches of

Christ demonstrates it can be done; but it was not being done by

most, still needing someone to guide them.

Both Thomas and Alexander Campbell would find the

"guide" they needed with the help ofthis philosophy. Though both

were strongly independent in thought, they nevertheless listened

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to practically all who came their way. And what they found

helpful in determining the truth they took hold of with vigor,

whether Locke or Glas or Calvin or Augustine.

The Campbells were preachers in the Presbyterian Church in

Ireland who were dissatisfied with the confusion and division they

witnessed in organized denominational religion. The barriers to

Christ the denominations seemed to raise for many were extremely

distasteful. So also the hindrances to fellowship with those of "like

precious faith" but who were not of their branch of

Presbyterianism were rejected.

For health reasons, Thomas Campbell leaves his family and

comes to settle in the Washington, Pennsylvania, area. He loves

it and urges his family to follow. The first attempt results in a

shipwreck that forces his son Alexander to get serious about his

spiritual life. With new-found commitment to God, Alex uses the

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year delay to study for the ministry at the University of Glasgow.

He appears to be unaware of churches of Christ around him and

will continue to be until they respond to his reformation efforts

within denominationalism in the mid-1800's.

While the family delays, Thomas runs afoul of the

Presbyterian synod to which he is amenable. As efforts are

underway to discharge him, he with members of the church to

which he ministers writes The Declaration and Address , an

amazingly similar statement of unity in Christ and freedom of faith

as came from Barton Stone.

When the family arrives in Washington in 1809, Thomas

makes them aware of his religious turn. Alexander reads the

document and declares to his father that the rest of his life will be

spent spreading those principles in the hearts of people.

Alexander Campbell marries and settles in Bethany, (West)

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Virginia. When children are born to him, the question comes what

to do for them religiously. Whether to baptize his infants is no

small matter at this point. After what he said was a thorough study

of the subject, he refuses baptism for his children but then

concludes that he himself is not adequately baptized. He decides

he wants the baptism of Peter's sermon in Acts 2:38. He wants it

to be for the same purpose, by the same authority, and in the same

way as was practiced by those first disciples of the church.

A Baptist preacher, Mathias Luce, administers the immersion

after much hesitation, for the Campbells made it clear this was not

to join any denomination, including the Baptist Church. The entire

family—father, son, wives—were immersed for the remission of sins

in the presence of the congregation that Thomas and Alexander

preached for. Very soon afterward, every member of that group

shared in the same obedience. The Brush Run, PA, church of

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Christ was fully established in 1812.

Interestingly, though Barton Stone was slow to come to belief

in the essentiality of immersion for remission of sins, various

preachers connected with his efforts preached it freely. They

established what they called churches of Christ in the northern

Alabama and southern Tennessee region around 1804. Some

believe that these were churches of Christ established on their own

initiative that simply heard of the Stone effort and later joined

themselves to them in work and fellowship. It was not long until

believer's immersion for the remission of sins was characteristic

among the churches of Christ connected to Stone.

Meanwhile, the Brush Run church did join various Baptist

associations because they were warmly encouraged to do so by the

Baptists themselves. The younger Campbell was used more than

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once to debate paedo-baptists (baptizers of infants) in the area. By

connecting Brush Run with the Baptists at first, confusion resulted

once more between the two groups; but this time many Baptist

Churches dissolved their Baptist connections and joined with the

"Disciples" of Campbell. The Baptist denomination officially

withdrew fellowship from the "Campbellite" disciples in 1828.

Both Stone and the Campbells enjoyed outstanding success

in their efforts. In 1831, a meeting was called around the end of

the year, first in Georgetown then in Lexington, Kentucky, to

formally establish one fellowship between the two groups. With

Alexander Campbell's disapproval (Campbellites never did listen

to their "leader" that much), two separate churches became one

fellowship without the aid or hindrance of state or hierarchial

control. What the meeting did was basically reassert the desire for

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freedom and unity in religion that the Bible encourages, allowing

only the Bible as the people freely understood it to be the final

word of authority in all matters pertaining to the church.

The result was an astounding unity that carries through to this

day when this basis is consistently followed. It defines the church

locally, it preaches immersion in Jesus' name after repentance for

the remission of sins, it upholds celebrations of the Lord's Supper

the first day of every week, a righteous life according to the New

Testament, and the involvement in good works whatever the

church can accomplish. The churches called themselves Christian

churches, Disciples of Christ, and churches of Christ.

From here the church took off in a wildfire of evangelism that

swept the United States as people by the thousands wanted such a

clear free message of Christianity. It came back across the ocean

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to Britain and was enthusiastically received. From there, it spread

through the far reaches of the British Empire, while Catholicism

was in full (and final?) retreat and Protestantism has been deciding

what to do with itself. It has continued in force for almost two

hundred years worldwide and shows no sign of abatement,

persuading and appealing to all nations, races, cultures, and

producing a purifying effect against sin throughout the entire

world. She came out of the wilderness with a vengeance.

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Conclusion

"When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He

asked His disciples, saying, 'Who do men say that I, the Son of

man, am?'

"So they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and

others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.'

"He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?'

"Simon Peter (Rocky) answered and said, 'You are the Christ,

the Son of the living God!'

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon

Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My

Father who is in heaven. And I say to you, that you are Peter

(Rocky), and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of

Hades shall not prevail against it,'" (Matthew 16:13-18).

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"And in the days ofthese kings (Roman emperors) the God of

heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and

the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in

pieces and consume all these kingdoms (empires), and it shall

stand forever, " (Daniel 2:44).

"But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that

she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is

nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence

of the serpent," (Revelation 12:14).

When Alexander Campbell made his preaching tour through

England in 1847-48, there met him various brethren who identified

themselves as members of the ancient church. What an amazing

"reunion" that must have been! Here is a man dedicating his life

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to restore the church which these English communicants claimed

was their own and had been on their soil for hundreds of years.

Earlier, in 1818, a church of Christ in New York, NY, sought word

from their brethren, wherever they might be. Some five different

congregations responded, all from the British Isles.

Over one hundred years later, in the aftermath of World War

II, two missionaries from the United States found their way to

Germany to help bring these people to a saving knowledge of Jesus

Christ. The preachers, Roy Palmer and Otis Gatewood, were direct

descendants of the faith as put forth by Campbell and Stone.

In 1955, they met Hans Grimm who told them of the ancient

church, of which he was a faithful member through all the

atrocities of Nazi and Communist maltreatment (for instance, in

1933, the Nazis imprisoned in concentration camps all the elders

and deacons of churches of Christ in Germany). He was a living

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witness to the survival of the churches of Christ in Central and

Eastern Europe.

These findings are increasing, their realization dawning.

Though factually based, some conclusions presented here could be

wrong in particulars. The existence of churches of Christ from AD

27 is a matter of faith, after all. Simple demonstration of

misapplication of evidence is all that's needed to disprove the

thesis.

Nor is there any Biblical truth that is challenged by the

falsification of the thesis. The presence of non-denominational

New Testament churches today validates the premise that churches

of Christ as defined are real, thus the eternality of the work Jesus

finished two thousand years ago.

Nevertheless, pertaining to the scriptures referenced, the

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existence of such churches somewhere in the world through the

ages is what you would expect. To find their footprints, their

"relics," their scraps left behind in the march of historic warfare

between Christ and Satan is exciting and edifying beyond words.

It is the whisper of family, of witness to the faithfulness of God

and the ability of faith in Him to survive the most ghastly attacks

and the most lonely vigils. Over these past centuries of quiet

darkness is heard, Be still. Be at peace. Be sure. Ifwe were able

to overcome,....

The world will have to deal with what has been found. New

Testament religion has a continuous historical life. It is not a mere

product oftwo-thousand-year-old assumptions. Christianity is not

limited to the meagerness of man-made, traditions and man-made

weakness. The church of Christ as defined in the purity ofNew

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Testament religion is real, sustaining itself against all comers. It

is neither Catholic, Protestant, nor Jewish. It lives by God's

sustaining power, forever a rebuke to the whims of men, even of

men who claim their whims in the name of Jesus Christ.

J. T. Wheeler may be reached at 1216 Long Paw Lane, Charlotte, NC, 28214, USA.

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Sources

1. The Holy Bible

2. Early Christians Speak, by Everett Ferguson

3. Post-graduate class, The Restoration Movement, by Earl

West

4. The Oxford Illustrative History of Britain, edited by Kenneth

O. Morgan

5. Memoirs of Alexander Campbell , by Robert Richardson

6. Extract from Dr. Hans Grimm's Booklet, translated by Dr. H.

L. Schug

7. The History of the Church of Christ in Europe after the First

Century,by Keith Sisman, Simply Christians website

8. A Brief History of the British Churches,Simply Christians

website

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9. A History of the Baptists , by Robert G. Torbet

10. God's Role in America, by Sam Bartholomew and Stephen

Mansfield

11. Eerdman's Handbook to the History of Christianity, edited

by Dr. Tim Dowley

12. The Discovery of King Arthur, by Geoffrey Ashe

13. In Search of the Dark Ages , by Michael Wood

14. Chronicle of the Roman Emperors , by Chris Scarre

15. Chronicle of the Popes, by P. G. Maxwell-Stuart

16. The Christian Baptist, by Alexander Campbell

17. A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada,

by Mark A. Noll

18. Christianity Before Campbell,by David Padfield, Simply

Christians website

19. The Stone-Campbell Movement, by Leroy Garrett

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20. The Eternal Kingdom, by F. W. Mattox

21. Film series, The Stone-Campbell Movement, by Bill

Humble

22. The Search for the Ancient Order, by Earl West, vol. 1

23. Eusebius' Church History , translated by Paul Maier

24. Evidences of Christianity,by J. W. McGarvey

25. The Isles, a History,by Norman Davies

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